College Education Outline

Whichever direction you plan to take though…you MUST have a clear and detailed formal thesis and outline:)  Below you will find the instructions on how to create this document.

Before you do so, please take a few moments to also review all information on thesis statements (see other items in HL). Your thesis statement should be at least 3-4 sentences in length.

The thesis should be two-three sentences at the top of your page that states the main point of your essay.  Try not to announce your topic (In this essay I will …). Instead, just state the overall main idea of your essay.

I cannot emphasize enough the use of our textbook regarding thesis/outlines.  Be sure to review the information contained there (however, you will be creating a 3-4 sentence thesis, not a one sentence thesis). Look in the index under each of these words.  They are discussed in numerous ways in numerous chapters. 

The outline MUST use complete sentences to map out the body paragraphs.  Each main point that you plan to cover in the essay needs its own single point that works to support the thesis. 

The outline should also map out the examples you’ll use inside the body paragraphs to support your ideas.  (Each body paragraph should be a Roman numeral, and the details in that paragraph will be capital letters.) Get as specific as you can at this point to make the first draft easier to write.